The Major Richard Star Act allows veterans with combat-related disabilities to receive both military retired pay and veteran's disability compensation without reduction.
Richard Blumenthal
Senator
CT
The Major Richard Star Act allows veterans with combat-related disabilities to receive both veteran's disability compensation and military retired pay concurrently, without reduction. This act amends Title 10 of the United States Code to ensure that disability retirees with combat-related disabilities are not subject to reductions in retired pay due to receiving veteran's disability compensation. These changes will take effect the first day of the month following the enactment of the Act.
Major Richard Star Act Proposes Full Concurrent Receipt: Ending Pay Offsets for Combat-Disabled Military Retirees
This bill, named the Major Richard Star Act, targets a specific financial issue for military retirees: the reduction of retirement pay when they also receive VA disability compensation for combat-related injuries. It amends Title 10 of the U.S. Code to ensure these veterans can receive both their full retirement pay and their disability benefits concurrently, without the current offset. The changes would kick in starting the first month after the bill becomes law.
Untangling the Paycheck Problem
Right now, there's a rule that often reduces a disabled veteran's military retirement pay dollar-for-dollar by the amount of VA disability compensation they receive. This bill aims to eliminate that reduction specifically for retirees whose disabilities are classified as combat-related. By amending Sections 1413a and 1414 of Title 10, the legislation explicitly states that eligible retirees get both payments without reduction, effectively allowing 'concurrent receipt'. Think of a Sergeant who retired after an injury in a combat zone – under this bill, they would no longer see their hard-earned retirement check shrink just because they also qualify for VA disability for that same combat injury.
Cleaning Up the Code
The bill also does some legislative housekeeping. It removes outdated language in Title 10 related to a previous phase-in period for concurrent receipt, which no longer applies. These technical tweaks aim to make the law clearer and ensure the rules governing retirement and disability pay are straightforward for veterans navigating the system. The core change remains focused: ensuring combat-disabled retirees receive their full entitled retirement pay alongside their VA disability compensation.